News

Student Free Day - AR17

Thank you to all staff who made Thursday and Friday so successful, from teachers who presented their research to the many staff who facilitated and supported staff, and to all the staff who ensured the venue and catering was of the highest quality. It was an outstanding event, during which the wonderful collaborative and supportive qualities of our staff were displayed. Not to mention of course the talent, passion and commitment!

I was also delighted that the following special guests supported the AR17 Conference:

• Dr Neil McGoran, Director of Catholic Education in South Australia (CESA)
• Monica Conway, Assistant Director, Religious Identity and Leading Learning, CESA
• Edgar Bliss, Senior Adviser, Literacy, Languages and Learning,CESA
• Ludgero Rego, Languages Consultant, CESA
• Christelle Plummer, Senior Adviser – Numeracy, CESA
• Rowena Ulbrick, Professional Learning and Innovation Specialist
• Hilda Neville, Learning and Leadership Consultant, Institute of Educational Assessors

These guests added to the rigour and deep reflection in relation to student learning at Tenison Woods College, where: “Every learner has a place. Every learner has a pathway.  Every Learner will shine. That is our challenge and our celebration.”

Parish Facebook Page
Just as the Church sends out missionaries to countries, the Mount Gambier Parish has been evangelizing and sending missionaries into the virtual world, by creating its Facebook page. This page has now been operating for about a month and it will enable the parish to advertise events and keep people up to date and engaged with what is happening in the parish. The parish Facebook page can be found at www.facebook.com/mtgambiercatholicparish. If you use Facebook, I’d like to encourage you to ‘like’ and ‘follow’ the parish Facebook page.

May our prayer for this initiative be summed up in the contemporary take of the prayer of St Teresa of Avila written by blogger Meredith Gould:

“Christ has no online presence but yours,

No blog, no Facebook page but yours,

Yours are the tweets through which love touches this world,

Yours are the posts through which the Gospel is shared,

Yours are the updates through which hope is revealed. Christ has no online presence but yours,

No blog, no Facebook page but yours.”

Adds quite a new dimension to our thinking doesn’t it?  So now when our young are busy with their virtual world, we can take comfort in the hope that they are very busy evangelizing.   

South East Deanery Renewal Gathering
Parishioners ventured to Naracoorte Sunday for the Deanery Renewal Gathering, as the next step of our Deanery on the journey of Renewal. The day was wonderfully facilitated by Sister Virginia Bourke, RSJ and offered an opportunity for prayer and reflection. I look forward to the inspiration and encouragement the gathering has offered our parishioners in our journey of faith together.

Nut and Allergens Awareness Policy
As we commence term 4 I remind families of our Nut and Allergens Awareness policy that is concerned with the whole school approach to the health care and management of those members of the Tenison Woods College community who suffer from specific allergies. 

The policy, which can be viewed our website: http://www.tenison.catholic.edu.au/__files/d/11749/W_Nuts_and_Allergens_Awareness.pdf

is based on the College position not to guarantee a completely nut and allergen free environment, rather to minimise the risk of exposure, encourage self-responsibility and plan for effective response to possible emergencies. 

The College recognises that a number of students and staff suffer from potentially life threatening allergies to certain foods or toxins. The College seeks the support of students, staff and parents in maintaining a minimised risk environment whilst at the same time ensuring we provide an effective response to potential anaphylactic situations.

Current medical advice from immunologists suggest that, in nut-free environments, allergic children and families run a real risk of letting their guard down and thinking they are in a totally safe environment. The College is aware of the stresses imposed on students, parents, care-givers and staff when having a student who suffers allergic reactions in their care. Therefore, the provision of procedures and systems to effectively manage such stress is also the aim of this policy.

The Nut and Allergens Awareness Policy accentuates the responsibilities of parents, students, staff and College Leadership. As Principal, where the safety of each individual community member is of paramount importance to me, I take my responsibilities seriously and look forward to: regularly reminding parents of the ‘Nut and Allergens Policy’ in the newsletter; reviewing the ‘Nut and Allergens Policy’ on a regular basis; and ensuring current medical information is available to staff.

David Mezinec | Principal

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO NEWSLETTER